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College debt the next financial bubble?

COLORADO SPRINGS - Decades of double-digit college tuition rate increases and the ever-growing burden of student loan debt have some economists concerned higher education could be the next financial bubble to burst.

Economics professor Richard Vedder of the Ohio University is director of Center for College Affordability and Productivity. His book "Going Broke by Degree" highlights the similarities between the national collective student debt and the housing market crash of the mid-2000's.

Vedder says the growth of government backed low-interest student loan has caused a surge in college and university enrollment, but far too students drop out or are unable to find sufficient-paying jobs after graduation.

"When they default on their loans or if they don't graduate, do the colleges pay anything or do they suffer any negative consequences and I think that is probably a flaw in the system that, if corrected, could perhaps help."

Vedder will speak at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. The free event will be held at the Lodge on campus. Parking is available in lot 7.

Vedder's speech is sponsored by the Department of Political Science, the Center for the Study of Government, and the Individual and the Program for Preserving a Free and Prosperous Society.